Re: [PHP-DEV] Re: [RFC] [Discussion] Literal Scalar Types

On Thu, 30 Jul 2026 at 16:28, Matteo Beccati <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Hi Seifeddine,
>
> Il 30/07/2026 01:59, Seifeddine Gmati ha scritto:
> > I asked the 8.6 Release Manager about the feature freeze. The
> > effective cutoff is not the beta1 announcement on August 13 but the
> > creation of the beta1 tag, which happens on Tuesday, August 11,
> > mid-morning US Central time. A vote opened today would close on August
> > 13, after the tag exists, so inclusion in 8.6 is not possible. I will
> > therefore not reopen the vote, and the Intent to Vote I posted on July
> > 23 is withdrawn.
> >
> > I have retargeted the RFC to the next PHP version, whether that is 8.7
> > or 9.0. RFC text is otherwise unchanged and remains final:
> > https://wiki.php.net/rfc/literal_scalar_types
> I could have made an honest mistake when announcing the deadlines, but
> all my emails were pointing the 13th as deadline for RFCs.
>
> The rationale being that the implementation didn't have to land in beta1
> necessarily, so the beta1 release date seemed better than "tagging day"
> as deadline.
>
> I think that having RFCs end voting so close to the feature freeze is a
> terrible idea as it gives very little wiggle room in case something
> unexpected comes out once implemented and more widely tested.
>
> That said, another RFC went to voting a few minutes ago, so we'd better
> be consistent. I apologise for the confusion!
>
>
> Cheers
> --
> Matteo Beccati

Hi Matteo,

Thanks for clarifying, and no apology needed.

For this RFC the point is moot either way. My retarget announcement is
already out and, being a change to the voting widgets, it started a
fourteen-day Cooldown Period under the Feature Proposals policy. Even
under the August 13 reading, the earliest the vote could now open is
mid-August, so 8.6 was out of reach the moment that email hit the
list. The RFC stays targeted at the next PHP version.

For what it's worth, I agree with your wider point: a vote that closes
at the freeze boundary leaves no room to react if implementation or
wider testing turns something up. Landing early in the next cycle is
the better home for a type-system change in any case.

Good luck with the 8.6 releases.

Cheers,
Seifeddine